Beauty and the Beast
by FromThoughtsToInk
Summary: Kind of AU, so bare with me. Imprisoned in Regina's castle, Red is now captured. Soon she starts talking to the prisoner next to her, a girl named Belle. Friends, or maybe more than friends, yet they never meet face to face. Ruby feels lost, and when she see a new face, she finds her lost love. But can she get her to remember her. Red Beauty. Please read, it's pretty good.
1. Silver Chains

**AN: This is my first OUaT FanFiction, but I like constructive criticism, so message me if you see anything wrong or just want to say good job.**

The chains rattled whenever Red moved. How long had she been here? A few days, a couple of months, or was it a year? The days muddled together, ever since King George captured her. Her cuffs hung heavily on her wrists, they were loose enough for her to slip her thin hands out but with silver lining the inside made them burn with every breath. And for what? To get back at James? Sure he was now your close friend, not as close as Snow but still close. He shouldn't stop the army for this inconvenience. 'Great,' she thought, 'I'm an inconvenience.' She put her head in her hands, she would cry, sob, scream, whatever but she only winced at the pain shooting up her arms.

"Aghh!" Red bit her lip to muffle the groan.

"Quiet!' yelled a guard. He unsheathed a silver dagger and let it gleam in the moonlight. The reflection settled on her eyes. Red rose to her feet. She moved until her back hit the wall. "One more sound and I cut out your tongue with this."

"Lancelot," said a sickly familiar voice, "that is no way to act towards our guest."

"Guest?" Red snorted, "Prisoner more like it." King George stepped into the light, he was chuckling softly.

"Now, now R- well, I don't know what to call you now." True, her iconic red hood was stripped away from her along with the clothing she was wearing weeks ago. She was fitted with cloth that shouldn't be used as rags. Thin and full of holes, she might as well been naked. Red just growled at him. He chuckled louder. "When they said you were a wolf, I thought that was only on the full moon."

"But that's not why you're here, is it?" she asked. She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"I'm not here for you," he paused for effect. 'Gods no! Not her!' "The Queen is, Regina."

Red drew in a quick breath. Her hands clutched her forearms as she tried to keep from shaking. As the bars lift, Red pushed herself into the rocky wall until the shards of rock dug deeply into her back.

"Hello dear," said a female voice, the Queen's voice. She stepped out of the shadows, but against the black clothing the only thing visible was her face.

"What-what's going to on?" Red's voice cracked.

Regina smirked, "How do I put it? You. Belong. To. Me." She punctuated every word with a step forward.

"No. No!" Red was in denial, and desperation was creeping into her voice. She was in a rising panic. Regina's hand shot up and grabbed her face.

"You may believe that someone, Snow most likely, will save you, but know this, once I have what I want, you become useless. I get rid of what is useless." Her grip got tighter before she released. She quickly turned and walked out. Red rushed forward but the chains jerked her back. The silver burned her skin. "Huntsman, take care of her. But if she fights back, don't hesitate to kill her." A guard from behind her grunted before walking behind her. "And don't forget her cloak, wouldn't want her to wolf out," the guard stopped in his tracks, the Queen noticed this but waved it off, "during the journey. It's a full moon tomorrow, we leave in the morning but we shouldn't risk it."

They all left, even the guard that normally watched her left. Once the prison doors closed, Red cried out, she howled, she screamed. She never cried in front of anyone but Snow and Granny, lucky for her, she was the only prisoner in a jail full of cells. Her sobs echoed across the room. She called names: Granny, Snow, James, Quinn, and a name she hadn't said in a year, Peter.


	2. Opens Windows

**AN: Hey you guys! I wanted to say thank to reginamillz for getting my spirits up, even though I was stuck in a plot hole. reginamillz also wrote two cool stories, so please check them out. Will I always be compared to her is my favorite (warning not for the faint of heart and really sad.) Okay, I'll shut up now. Go, read.**

She sat in her cell, staring out the window. That's all see ever did, stare out into the window, knowing that freedom was mere inches from her grasp, the freedom to find her true love again.

One could only know how she kept from going insane. Or perhaps the ones who seem normal are the insane ones. But she was alone, with nothing and no one. How she didn't die of boredom a long time ago amazed her. Maybe it was the hope of saving that kept her spirits up. But as far as she knew, she was the only person in the tower.

The sudden opening of her door aroused her from her daydream; a man with dark hair and striking blue eyes burst in.

"Are you Belle?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, testing out her voice. She hasn't used it in a while.

"Your father, he's in danger. The monster that kept you hostage is attacking his village. I need you to help me defeat him."

"Let me talk to him, please. I can help him."

"You don't know how to defeat him?" he asked. A sharp fog clouded his eyes quickly, like he didn't find what he was looking for.

"No, and even if I did I wouldn't kill him," Belle leaped to her feet.

"Then," his smirked, "you're useless to me." He quickly closed the door, locking it before she could even push it open. Belle pounded on the door. She pushed her fear, angry, pain into her actions, but the hard wood wouldn't budge. In fact, it gave her splitters.

She sat on the floor with tears in her eyes. She shuttered a bit before wiping her eyes and picking herself up. She walked up to the cot she called a bed. Belle picked up her only possession, a dwindling piece of chalk, and drew a small line. Soon she would be there long enough that she couldn't count the days. There were already too many. She leaned on the wall, careful not to rub the marks off. She sat there, like any other day. Some days she would create stories, or tell herself the ones she committed to memory, soon she realized that each time she did that it would come out differently. But today Belle just replayed her last moments of freedom in her head, wondering if there was anything she could do to save herself.

Day turned to night, and Belle couldn't sleep. She spent the night staring out in small window, staring out at the full moon. She removed herself from the bed. Now standing, she walked up to window. The bars were thin, but strong, she tried breaking them before. It wasn't even a window; it was a small opening in the wall by her bed, about head height, covered with to bars. It made room freeze in winter, and unbearably hot in summer. It would be summer again.

Taking a leap of faith, Belle tried to fit her arm through the slot. Sliding it in carefully, she found that she can nearly reach the window of the cell next to her. It would be helpful if there was someone in that cell, but for all she knew, she was the only prisoner.

She pulled out her arm and turned around. Belle was exhausted; her cot looked comfortable, more than ever before. She laid there for a bit, and soon her eyes fluttered shut.


	3. Ruby Red

**AN: Hey guys! I'm going on a one week hiatus, sorry. I'm going to be traveling with family with no internet, I'll be able to write but not upload. To make it up to you I'm giving you a few chapters. Happy reading. Thanks to Ella for the cute review, you're awesome. All of you are awesome.**

Ruby tidied up the diner. After a day of nonstop working, she was ready to unwind down the Rabbit Hole. With the last dishes cleared from the back of the diner, Ruby shoved then into the kitchen. She was nearly out the door, room key in hand when…

"Ruby, I need you to work the early shift tomorrow," said Granny. Ruby inwardly groaned, always working the early shift. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Text me the number of guy you're sharing a bed with." Ruby was surprised by two things: her grandmother had grasped the concept of texting, and she automatically thought she was sleeping with some guy. Yeah, she flirted with everybody, some more than others, but to be fair Billy was the only boy she ever slept with. It was a high school, it was a party, and the details are pretty fuzzy.

"Yes Granny," she said obediently. Rather go with the flow than fight the current.

At the Rabbit Hole, Ruby sat at her table, some sort of red alcohol in hand, tight, red jeans, and a black tank, it was no surprise some men's eyes gravitated to her. The attention did nothing for her other than annoy her a bit. It felt wrong, like she was lying to someone, maybe herself.

While lost in thought, one of the guys leering at her approached. He placed an arm around her; she recoiled at his touch, retreating to the left side of her seat.

"God, Whale, you scared me," she said.

"Nothing to be scared of Ruby, just little ol' me."

"Well that's something to be scared of," she muttered into her drink.

"What was that?" he asked.

'Oh," she said, "it was nothing."

For the next hour, he chattered her up, complimenting her dress. He was sweet, really, but his intentions where clear. Sometime around ten, Ruby decided it would be best if she left.

She walked alone. The road was clear of traffic of any kind, so she walked right down the middle of Main Street. She passed most of the shops with a second glance, well, most. She looked at the library with a sad, longing look. Why longing? Ruby barely read, maybe _Alice in Wonderland_ in school, but as an adult, not really. Yet still, she felt some pull towards it.

And ever since the clock started to move, the pull grew stronger and stronger every day.

Ruby brushed it off as just an odd curiosity for the always closed library.

She was about to turn the corner when there was a light buzz in her pocket. Her phone lit up with a text from Emma.

**_You ok?_** It read.

**_How would you know?_**

**_My bug is right by the library._** Oh. There was a small honk, and Ruby followed. The yellow deathtrap was parked by the side entrance with Emma in the front seat. She motioned for the red streaked girl to sit in the passenger seat.

The door slammed shut and the quiet was pretty eerie.

"So," Emma started, "what's up?"

"I don't know. I guess I feel lost."

"Lost? You lived here all your life; if anyone should be lost, it's me," Emma snorted. Ruby gave her a pained look. Emma looked a little sad herself, like she was in that situation herself: just lost with no one to turn to. "Is it Granny?" Ruby quickly shook her head.

"I feel like- no, I should just tell Archie. I'm just wasting your time." Ruby had her hand on the handle just before Emma locked the car.

"Tell me."

Ruby sighed and turned to face the blonde. "I feel like I'm missing something. Someone."

"Yeah kid, I know how you feel," Ruby stared at Emma.

"I'm almost as old as you," Ruby said as the car doors unlocked. Emma rolled down the window. Ruby opened the door.

"Keyword being almost, how old are you anyway?"

"Twenty-three. My last birthday was..." Ruby rounded the front so she could get to the driver side window.

Emma looked at her, "You know what, forget it." Ruby started to walk away.

"Emma," the blonde looked up, "if you get a call from Granny in the morning asking where I am, just say yes."

"Ruby, what are you talking about?" But the red streaked girl was to far away, "Ruby? Ruby!"


	4. Underneath It All

**AN: Yeah this one is short, deal with it.**

She stared out the window again, that is all she ever did. Her days were spent with crying and staring out the window, and for what? What was she crying for? The only person she knew was herself, she couldn't remember a mother, or father, or friends. Or anyone. She couldn't remember how she got here, or why. Her life has been filled with whys, things that didn't add up, incomplete answers, more question, and just whys. As far as she knew she wasn't crazy, was she? She couldn't remember anything. She couldn't even remember her own name. Maybe she didn't have a name.

Every day was the same thing, stare the window maybe at the door, sleep, dream of a life out off the hospital walls, hope someone will come with food, or answers.

But today was different. The slot in the door opened, she turned her head and a pair of dark eyes stared at her. She hoped to find some comfort in those eyes, but all she saw was a twisted gleam in the eyes, not even a flicker of hope of recognizing them; hope, the only thing that was hers in this place. The slot closed quickly, and she turned back to the staring out the window.

The moon was out, and she found something recognizable in it, like it was something of danger and excitement. She racked her mind for things about the moon.

Humans landed on the moon with Apollo XI. There seems to be a face of a man in the side of the moon. There is a myth that there are men who turn into wolves when the moon was full. Werewolves.

Red. Red repels wolf.

Where did that come from? Great, more unanswered questions.

Then again, she was the girl without a name. She had a name, she could feel. On restless nights, she would say every name she could think of, trying to see what name will stick. Maybe with her name would her memories follow; her life? She tried so hard to think, she came real close with the B names. Some nights she'd run the names through again, just to see if she missed something.

Every night needed in the same result, no name.


	5. Beauty and the Beast

**AN: Our two favorite girls aren't really in this one.**

Emma's phone was ringing loudly when she woke up. She picked it up, "Hello?" Her voice was sleepy.

"Yes, hel- Emma?"

"Yes?" Emma was pretty confused, "Who is this?"

"Granny Lucas," with that Emma nearly jumped out of bed, "Is Ruby there?"

What did Ruby say? Say yes?

"Yes?" Emma could hear snickers coming from the background.

"Ruby!" she heard before the call was cut off. She traded the phone for an old walkie talkie. The old device sputtered to life with the loud crackling of static.

"Henry, meet me at Granny's in ten minutes."

"Ok, I have something on Operation Cobra," said Henry. Emma smiled, but it was pained. One day he will see reality and their little game will be done.

Henry, slid into the booth next to Emma the next morning. "What is your favorite fairytale?" he asked.

"Um, why?"

The young boy just shook his head, "Just answer the question."

"Jeez kid, Mulan, maybe Beauty and the Beast." Henry quickly opened the large storybook to a mark page. The gold title shimmed, Beauty and the Beast.

"I can't find Belle, but a found the beast."

Emma was actually curious, being the fact that Beauty and the Beast was her favorite Disney movie growing up in foster care. "Well! Who is it?"

Henry coughed and pointed to a waitress chatting to a customer. "Ruby," Emma breathed low, "Really? She doesn't seem monster like."

"She is the Beast. Remember when she was your assistant, she smelled out the heart, she could hear David Nolan breathing. She is Little Red Riding Hood," he opened to another page; on it was a young girl in a red cloak.

"How does that make her a monster?" Henry just sighed, as if he was saying 'When will you learn?'

"Read please. It is a lot different from the version most kids hear." He turned the book so Emma could read.

It read: _There was a girl whom the whole town called Red. This town was plagued with an awful monster: a bloodthirsty wolf._


	6. Her Story

**AN: Hi! I'm back. I was gone longer than expected so here is a few chapters. It is really hard to write a story where the two main characters never really meet until later, and I mean really later. Oh, and I'm on Tumblr now, so check me out at realityornothing on tumblr. So yeah, check me out.  
**

Belle's eyes snapped opened as the sound of a door slamming. She jolted up, making sure her door hadn't been opened. It wasn't hers, so thinking nothing of it, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

_Belle was in a small village. Hushed voices bounced off the cloak she was wearing. Whispers of village gossip threatened to deceive her. She pulled her hood closer, hoping to find comfort in it. She knew where she was going was dangerous, that no one who knew her would ever dare to speak to her or of her. Not that she cared. She continued walking, with the gravel crunching underfoot. She needed to see her one last time, before anything else could happen to her. The cage holding her love with covered with guards armed with black,again, not that she cared. She ran, literally launching herself at the guards, hoping she will break trough the nearly impenetrable wall of men. All she saw was black hair and a red cloak before it all faded to black._

Red paced the length of cell several times, stopping only to howl at the moon. The night was fading fast, but with the few precious hours left Red was going to make the most of it. On any normal night during wolfstime (as normal as it can get) she couldn't get her hood off fast enough. She would let her wolf run wild. But with all this emotion stirring inside her she could lose control and forget all that happened, not that the furniture would mind but Red in the morning would. She howled again.

Red loved howling, even if she was in her human form. Howling provided a distraction from the chaotic world with pure animalistic emotion. It was like being awake and asleep at the same time.

Yet most people us that describe love. What love was like an animal? The pure kind, or the selfish kind? Maybe her love with Peter was like that, but that might have been on her part considering what she was.

She lashed out on a wall, banging against it with fists and feet. She let the pain consume her, let it be a part of her. She let it remind her that all of this was real. She could let her wolf take full control, she could let go and forget it all. But something held her back. A small voice. Red focused on the noise. It belonged to a girl, probably her age.

"Hello?"

Belle pressed her head against the bars of the window, hoping for a piece of sound. All she heard was hard, ragged breathing; human breathing. Desperate for human contact, she whispered, "Hello?" and hoped the small noise wasn't lost in the wind.

Everything went silent before a new sound was heard.

"Hey," it was a young, female voice that responded. Belle almost cried from joy and relief. relief that she was no longer alone.

"My name is Belle. And you are?"

"Re-Ruby," said the other.

Red mentally kicked herself. It was just the same thing Snow did to her a year ago.

'Ruby?' Belle thought. It was an odd name for a girl, yes, but with almost a year of little to no contact with anyone,, Belle needed someone, anyone, even a girl named Ruby.

She listened, hoping this girl will speak, but all she heard was boot heels clicking on stone and low muttering, something about silver.

"So, Ruby," she said, testing the girl's name. It fitted well, almost like she was meant to say it, "Where are you from?" Belle heard low chuckling." A village on the border on the kingdom. It was plagued by a wolf in my childhood." Belle audibly gasped. A wolf? She only read about these things in books. She craved to know the story. She opened her mouth, but held her tongue. She didn't know this Ruby girl, she didn't even know what she looked like. "Ruby, stories come from all over the realm, surely this village you came from has a story."

Red's mind went blank. A story? This girl must have been crazy. There was only one story in her village, the story of a wolf: her story. Well she did lie about her name, Red prayed to any god who listened that this Belle character was naive enough to not put the piece together.

"There is one story," Red admitted, "The tale of a girl in a red ridding hood."


	7. Why Lie?

**Hi! Thanks to ghostperfect for the cute review. Yes, Belle gets captured a lot, she is way in over her head when it comes to adventure. Red can too. Hope you guys this chapter.**

Belle listened intently. Ruby's story was everything she craved in life: adventure, action, suspense, and romance. She had experienced very little of that during her days in the Dark Castle with Rumplestiltskin. The twists of the story set her on edge, she loved the part with Red and Peter, and hated that Granny used the wolf to keep the two apart. Well, until the end. She could hear a small change in Ruby's voice when she talked about Red waking up to the carnage, as if she was trying to make sense of it herself. As if she lived through that. The wolf didn't scare Belle even in the slightest. The power, responsibility, and the burden of being cursed a wolf was the scary part.

"I learned h- I mean, Red learned to control the wolf," said Ruby, her voice tripping over her words.

Why would Ruby say 'I' if the story if the story was about Red? Belle audibly groaned.

"How could i have been so stupid?" Belle muttered under her breath so sure that "Ruby" couldn't hear her.

"What is it Belle?' the other girl asked.

Red's stomach dropped. Belle knew.

"Why lie, Red?"

Red's eyes widen, and her face turned a color that was true to her name. For once in her life, the normally friendly Red was glad nobody could see her. She was glad she was separated from her friends, her family. If only Snow could see her now.

"I wouldn't judge you, I won't judge you. You could have told me," Belle whispered. Red felt sick, worse than when she woke up to the all to bright colors of the world after killing Peter.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't deal with it again: the stress, the memories, the guilt, pain," Red reasoned. She bit the inside of her cheek. Her teeth, sharpened from nights of hunting, cut the flesh of her mouth. The coppery taste of blood filling her mouth brought back painful memories of waking up in the bloody snow rather than distract. She spit out the red liquid. The metallic smell made her feel guilty and sick. Red shot out a hand to balance herself.

Belle played with the hem of the her dress. The once white fabric was now a tarnished yellow color from over use. She waiting for Red to speak, but the silence was beginning to become unbearable. The only noise coming from the room next to her was the sound of a fist meeting stone and a few choice words. Belle stared out the window. The full moon was fading fast. Full moon.

"Red," Belle said, after gaining a little courage to speak, "you aren't a wolf now, why is that?"

Red barely heard those words as pain ran up her arm and through her body. She grunted, shaking her hand as if the rid herself from the pain. "My hood, from my story, it keeps me from turning, when i wear it. If I wear it." She flexed her fingers as the pain subsided. The small cuts in them were already healing. "I hardly wore it as a child."

"Why did the Queen take you?" Belle asked. Her father did say that curiosity was her fatal flaw.

"Because I helped someone special in a time of need. I helped her, she later helped me. We became like sisters. They'd call us Rose Red and Snow White."

Red used the back of her hand to wipe a few stray tears from her face. Damn emotions getting in the way. She was Red, the strong huntress, a wolf. But she was also human with thoughts and feelings and emotions. Nobody really understood what drove her, what made her tick. It was Snow, knowing that she was always there, knowing that there was a constant in her life. But know matter what she did, or what she felt, the one she loved, truly loved, would always find her true love. Her male true love.

They didn't know what is was like to have two lives swarming in her head, one saying she killed, the other saying she lived, she loved.


	8. Watercolor

**Please note that this takes place in Storybrooke sometime between Red Handed and The Outsider. And FTL, after Hook tried to use Belle to kill Rumple and before King George cursed Snow. I hope this clears up anything that confuses you.**

Emma turned the two pages over and over and over again. It had been hours since Henry left, but Emma stayed behind. The book had all of the classical fairy tales, and not in the traditional sense either. Come on, Snow White being a thief, or the Mad Hatter not being originally from Wonderland, or Prince Charming being a shepherd, not exactly the Disney version. If Emma followed Henry's logic, she was living proof that Prince Charming and Snow White had sex. That was definitely not in the Disney movie. She shook it off. Ruby slid another mug of hot chocolate piled high with whipped cream and cinnamon into the booth. Several emptied mugs were pushed to the side to make room for the chocolate/cinnamon concoction. As red boot heels clicked off, Emma turned her attention back to the colorful drawings.

The pages were two pictures, back to back. One was of a girl that held some resemblance to Ruby, you know, without the midriff, booty shorts, and red streaks. The other was a wolf hunched over a fresh kill. The book said that Little Red transformed into a wolf during the full moon. Well that explain the late nights Ruby had. Emma closed the book, but the image of Red lingered in her mind. Maybe that's why Henry believed in the curse, Emma had to admit a lot of the pictures did resemble some of Storybrooke's citizens.

She took a long swig of hot chocolate. She put the mug down and noticed someone had joined her.

"Sheriff Swan, aren't you suppose to be at the station?"

"Why, Mayor Mills, I should, but it has been a slow day," Emma retorted. Regina looked down at the book on the table.

"So, Henry has been here."

"Yes. He was hanging out with his _mother_." Emma let out of her frustration on that word, Regina noticed.

"I will tell you again, genetics mean nothing Miss Swan. I am his mother."

"Did you come here to talk about me and Henry, or something?"

"You should go to the station and work. The city doesn't pay you to drink hot chocolate," she said as she glided out of the booth. Emma's eyes followed her every move. She walked towards the door, all most about to leave before turning around, "Oh, and Miss Swan," Regina a motion towards her upper lip. Using the back of her sleeve, Emma wiped her lip clean of the whipped cream mustache. Regina smirked and left.

Emma left a couple bucks on the table and walked out. The book was tucked under her arm, ready to be return to its rightful owner.


	9. Truth

**AN: First, thank you to Sir Jacques for the two amazing reviews. It will be a mixture of truth and denial, you'll just have to wait to see. You are awesome. And as for the new story cover, extra special, oh my god I can't believe it, put a cherry on top thank you to blackangel94a for the pic. (Jordan, I know it was you who put her up to it, don't lie.) Please go on Tumblr and send her love. For the first time, this chapter is dedicated to Sir Jacques and blackangel94a. Warning: Mentions of Red Swan but noting major, just Henry being naive and Emma over thinking.**

Henry sat on the rubber flooring of the new playhouse. Even with its state of the art design of the Evil Queen's castle (his mother), the new equipment, and the large amounts of kids his age playing, her still preferred the wooden castle. His castle, his secret, his and Emma's place. He once heard his mom, Regina, say the only thing constant in life is change. Which he found weird cause nothing changed in Storybrooke until Emma arrived. He smiled at the thought of her. Henry was glad to have his mom, his real mom, in his life.

Henry put his head in his hands when a few more kids showed up. Emma was supposed to meet him there an hour ago, it wasn't like her to be late.

'What if she forgot?' he thought. He stared down at his watch. If he had his book, he would read until Emma showed up, he never worried about the time. But with his favorite source of entertainment gone all he could focus on was time. Ever so until, one of his classmates would ask him to play.

"I can't, I'm waiting for my mom," he'd say. The kid would shrug off and find someone else to play with. He looked at some of the adults hanging around the sidelines and wondered what that would be like, to know that your parent was watching you, making sure that you were safe.

The sudden drop of a familiar weight in his lap snapped him out of thought. When he looked up to see a wide smile.

"I read the story," said Emma. Henry smiled, "I'm sorry I'm late, your mom and I had, uh, a little encounter."

"It doesn't matter. You're here now. Come on! We have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, Operation Cobra stuff," she said softly, hoping none of the children or parents heard her. He nodded. They walked in silence to the bug. Once safely inside the car, Henry nearly bounced out of his seat in excitement. He felt like Emma was starting to really believe. She shoved the key into the ignition and cranked the engine. Regina said Henry needed to be home by three and it was already 2:51.

"So when you were going to tell me Ruby was a wolf?" asked Emma. Henry's smile widen.

"When you finished the story," he stated almost matter-of-factly. "That's why she was able to do all that cool stuff."

"If Ruby is really a werewolf, why hasn't she turned. There had been like, four full moons." Henry shook his head, she still didn't get it.

"The curse, it keeps her from turning. It's like her cloak except it stops all magic. Until you showed up. Ruby's slowing turning back, can't you see? Her senses are coming back, and maybe her memories." Henry sounded really hopeful.

"Never mind, have you found 'Belle' yet?" A small bump in the road that made the car lurch forward.

"I'd thought you'd never ask," Henry said, smiling. He opened the book to a well worn spot. "The book says that Rumpelstiltskin, Mr. Gold, is the Beast." No matter what fairy tale crap Henry threw her way, Emma could agree on one thing, Gold was a beast among men. "_Beauty and the Beast_ ends when the Evil Queen, my mom, tells him Belle is dead when she really is held prisoner. Then nothing. Red goes missing for a month. They had to have met, their stories have to continue."

"Maybe Red got lost?" She played with his fantasy hoping it will reel him back into reality.

"Red doesn't get lost."

"She looked pretty lost to me. Ruby, I mean. Ruby is 'Red' right?"

"You talked to her? Did she say anything about remembering?" Henry was anxious to hear more. He needed to know.

"She said something about missing something, I think she said someone." Henry's eyes lighten up.

"Belle! She's trying to remember!"

"Or maybe she's just confused. I was really confused at her age," said Emma, still trying to find the speck of truth in Henry's game. But with him deep in thought, she knew there was no way to him than to dig deeper.

"There has to be something to trigger her memories. Maybe if you'd kiss her."

"WHAT!" Emma's foot nearly slammed on the brake.

"You know, kiss her. Like you did with Graham. It worked with him, why won't work for Ruby?"

"Because... because..." She tried, really tried, to make a good reason, but Emma lost all brain function.

"Because what?"

"Because of reasons." 'Nice vague answer, Emma! The kid is going to ask more questions!' thought Emma.

"Okay?" he said. He obviously got the message that kissing Ruby was out of the question. The bug slowed to a stop at the mayor's house.

Once outside the car he turned to say, "But seriously, think about it," before running away to the house.

"See you tomorrow," Emma laughed. She started up the car again. The drive to the empty loft was silent, and normally Emma liked it that way. But this time, too much silence made her jumbled up thoughts more confusing.

'I got to help Mary Margret. I have to solve the Nolan case. I have to talk to David. I have to kiss Ruby. Wait! No! I DO NOT have to kiss Ruby." That made her think harder. What if Henry was right about Graham? Right before he did, he was rambling on and on about remembering, but what he remembered remained a mystery. Something to never be revealed


	10. A Caged Animal

**AN: I feel like it is my duty to put an author note up at the top. I hope you like this chapter, my computer was a dumb ass and didn't save like forty times. A lot of stress went into this chapter :) Can I call you my Evil Pandas? I feel like I need to call you guys something. I'll be quiet and let you read.**

Red's head pounded as she dreamed.

_She was in a cage, on display as the animal she truly was. Her body was broken, she was broken. New scars trailed up her arms, her legs, and everywhere else. The guards thought it would be funny to slice her with their swords. They would hold contests to see who could cut deep enough for the healing to not be instant. Nobody consider her human, so why should they? She bit her lip to keep from giving them satisfaction of seeing her in pain. Another cut ran up her back, and skin started to repair itself. They laughed, called her names, made sure she felt barely human. It surprised her that they didn't use her yet, maybe on orders of the Queen. She would take the abuse if it meant her love was safe. She would turn, but with some many innocent people among the guilty, the guilty like her, she couldn't risk it. It would only get worse for her if she was wolf. If she wasn't human when she was Red, then she definitely an animal as her wolf. A wild animal. She tensed, ready for the next strike that will never come. A young woman with a hood made her way towards the cage. Red's heart lifted and fell all at the same time. She came. That statement made her feel both overjoyed and pained. The woman started running towards the cage. Red yelled a name, but it fell to deaf ears, including her own. The woman was easily overtaken by soldiers and brought to the ground. A guard aimed his sword above her, ready to strike. Red's hand shot up to the hood's tie. One tug and it will be all over.  
_

Red woke up gasping and covered in sweat. That dream, it felt livid, lifelike, and all soreal. Her hand unconsciously skimmed her body to find any open wounds or new scars. She breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing. Nothing is good. She looked out the window to see sunlight. 'Great, morning,' she thought with every ounce of sarcasm in her. She wiped sleep from eyes and did a mental checklist

I'm in a prison.

I basically belong to the Queen.

I lied to Belle.

I feel bad about the last one even though I barely know her.

I had the strangest dream.

I miss Snow.

Her mind lingered on the last thought. She really missed Snow. It took every ounce of willpower to push her out of her mind. If she was focused on just emotion her senses become too heightened for her human form to handle. She bit her lip as she started to think.

_No one, not even Snow, can ever love a me, a monster, a beast._

Her door opened, jarring her from thought.

"The Queen wishes to see you," said guard. It was a demand more than a invitation, and after the dream she had, Red thought it was in her best interest to go without a fight.

The Queen sat in front of her mirror. She studied the face in, which was, of course, not her own. The Dark One sat at his wheel. She watched with some interest. She noticed that he kept looking back at an object on a pedestal: a china cup with a small chip in it. She nearly laughed. The Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, was still hung up on some girl. How cute. With a small move of her hand the image was replaced with her true reflection.

"She's here, Your Majesty," said a guard. Regina smiled. In front of her was the familiar wolf girl.

"Leave us she said," Regina said. The guard left to two women alone. "My, my, Little Red Riding Hood is all grown up."

"My name is Red," she growled. Red's hands curled into tight fists.

"Oh, I know," the Queen admitted, "but I prefer Little Red." She smirked at the younger girl.

All those nights of running, she was afraid. All those days of hiding, she was afraid. All those weeks of spying, she was afraid. Red wasn't afraid anymore. "What do you want with me? Your fight is with Snow."

"Yes, it is. But that's still why you're here." She waved her hand over the mirror. It rippled like water before showing Snow just staring into space, looking lost and hurt.

"Snow White!" the Queen yelled, snapping Snow to reality.

"Regina," she said calmly. Her eyes were bloodshot. Regina smirked.

"I got your little friend, isn't that right Red?" she said, pulling Red into frame of the mirror.

"Red!" Snow cried, "Let her go!"

Regina went into a false thought, "Now, why would I do that?" The smile was still on her face. Snow just was agape.

"Snow, listen to me. Don't do anything she says," Red's hand brushed a stray hair out of her face, "I'm fi-"

"Red, what's wrong with your wrist?" asked Snow. Red looked down at her wrists. The wounds from the silver shackles had burned and scared her wrists. They were an angry red color and cover with thick, pale scars.

Regina answered for her, "Silver. A werewolf's only true weakness. It would be shame if your friend got hurt some more."

"Regina, please! You don't have to do this."

"But seems I have too," she said. Regina took a step closer to Red. "One month. You meet me, alone, unarmed."

"Last time you gave me a poison apple, why would this time be any different?"

"I have something special planned. Meet at the apple tree. One month, or she dies."

"Snow! Don't do it." Regina waved the image away, leaving Red to stare at her own reflection. "Snow? Snow!"

"Guards! Back to her cell!"

It took four guards to pull her back to her cell. She kicked, and punched, and screamed for Snow the whole time. The door slammed shut. She screamed louder, ripping her throat raw.

She truly was a caged animal.


End file.
